


The Words Upon Our Skin

by Exrong



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Character Study, Gen, One Shot, Spoilers, Writing on Skin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-04-22 21:37:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14317668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Exrong/pseuds/Exrong
Summary: When Jay finds the remnant of Zane’s face, the single, chipped wordBrotherwritten just under the eye, he throws it so hard against the ground it splits in two.Based on a prompt where the words people speak/think about you appear on your skin.





	The Words Upon Our Skin

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a prompt where the words people speak/think about you appear on your skin.

The Words Upon Our Skin 

 

~Nya~ 

Nya’s never hated her words. Not really. But at the same time she’s never really liked them, either. Words to her are just unnecessary symbols, things that lead to judgement and ridicule from those who don’t understand. 

There are the normal ones, of course. _Sister_ sits on her collarbone, alongside _Daughter_ and _Friend_. Her cheek has _Kind_ and _Smart_ , words that give her a bit of pride when she sees people look at them. 

_Beautiful_ is a word scrawled across her left arm in big, cursive letters. Beautiful for the way the most others see her, beautiful in the way she’s not fully accepted as a member of the team. Some days, she’ll look at this word and think wrong wrong wrong because beautiful is not what she wants to be defined as. _Hero_ or _Ninja_ , two smaller, less noticeable words that lay across her right arm, a parallel to what she is seen as versus what she really is.

So sometimes, when she feels left in the shadows of her teammates, she’ll roll up her pants and look at her ankle, at _Courageous_ and _Awesome_ (the last one courtesy of Jay himself) and feel sure that one day Beautiful will no longer be the biggest word on her body.

 

~Cole~ 

For the most part, Cole has never been one to shy away from his words. His chest, wide and open for the world to see, is littered with adorations from fans, inner thoughts from his other teammates. _Strong, Brave, Powerful. Athletic, Tough, Muscular_. Most are inked in large, capital letters with rigid edges and bulky font. A testament to his already well-known personality.

It’s his lower half he keeps shielded away, and even his brothers (in the once cramped home they shared) have never seen these specific ones. But Cole trusts them, has to with their line of duty, and on one drunken night they see what he’s been hiding for so long.

_Disappointment_ is imprinted on his right calf in ugly, thorn-ridden letters, but it is tiny, almost unreadable; a reminder of the conflict between him and his father. _Clumsy_ sits right next to it, a symbol of his short-lived time at the dancing academy. His left thigh sports _Unkind_ , right foot bears _Unfriendly_. 

(He doesn’t tell them that night, doesn’t tell them ever, that he got those last two words from their early days of being a team)

“It’s not who I am anymore,” he says when he sees his teammates looks of sympathy. “What matters,” he adds, pointing to his chest, “is up here.”

They don’t ask to look again.

 

~Jay~ 

It’s difficult not to stare at Jay’s face. He, like a small percentage of the rest of the world, was blessed with most of his words appearing on their head. _Silly_ is written in small, loopy letters just his under his left eye. _Loud_ is bolded beneath his lower lip. _Talkative_ running down his cheek.

He’s not bothered by it. Well, not anymore, that is. Years of stares and whispers, of kids asking about his face, parents unsure of how to explain, have left him (almost) immune to any weird looks he gets on the streets of Ninjago City. And not every word is printed on his head. Hero proudly sits on his shoulder; Intelligent is laced across his back. So, really, it’s no big deal if his face stands out in a crowd. Besides, his voice does that perfectly fine. 

But then Nadakhan happens, and words like _Annoying_ and _Obnoxious_ pale in comparison to _Evil_ and _Wicked_. They spiral around his neck like a noose in scratchy letters, as if a knife had cut them in, a reminder of his short-lived infamy. He watches as Ninjago rises and falls from the sky, sees Nya die and come back to life, and only after the dust has settled does he realize that even time doesn’t erase those awful, awful words.

Reflected in his bathroom mirror under a shaky, sliver of light, Jay sees the word _Pirate_ slashed upon his forehead and decides to grow his hair out.

 

~Zane~ 

Zane, bound by his own nindroid heritage, has no words inked on his skin. A part of him is thankful for this fact. Words, it seems, cause a bit of trouble for flesh-and-blood humans. Too many times has he seen conflict arise in the Ninja over newfound letters. Scathing opinions. Bitter memories. All of which are permanently marked for everyone to see. 

But, at the same time, Zane cannot help but feel a sense of longing whenever he looks at someone’s words. It is yet another reminder of his own unique physique, his inability to be “real”. And so this is why he asks Jay for help.

“Are you sure you want this?” the blue ninja asks as he holds up his tools. “Not that there’s anything wrong with words,” he gestures to his own face, “but you’ll definitely get more attention with them suddenly on ya.”

Zane contemplates Jay’s warning. He thinks of the stares Jay receives on the streets, the way the people of Ninjago still haven’t fully accepted a nindroid ninja. But he also thinks of Nya’s _Kind_ and Cole’s _Strength_ , and a part of him, the soul that deeply wants to be more than a robot, nods for Jay to continue. 

(Many months later, when Jay finds the remnant of Zane’s face, the single, chipped word _Brother_ written just under the eye, he throws it so hard against the ground it splits in two)

 

~Kai~ 

Kai’s biggest words are laughably easy to guess. They dance across his back like flames, crisscross with jagged lines and cut edges. When people look at them, they see _Fiery_ and _Hot-headed_ , see the sparks in his eyes just waiting to light a fuse. His hand glows with _Reckless_ , a word his sister has spoken too often, and his collarbone shines _Son_ , which he purposely used to hide before finding his father again.

When Ninjago enters another era of peace, the rise of social media takes over most of newfound words. _Hot, Dashing, Popular_ soon appear on his thighs, growing larger and larger as his accounts garner followers. Jay teases about it constantly. At least, until he grows distant for a while following a heated paparazzi chase, and Nya merely scoffs as all the attention he receives.

But then Morro arrives and Lloyd is taken, and Kai is left remembering the word he most cherishes: _Protector_. Given to him the day he unlocked his true potential, when he dedicated his life to keeping Lloyd safe. It’s not very big, only going from his index finger to his wrist, but it haunts Kai more than any other word has in his life. The following weeks of conflict don’t help, only bringing about new words he knows are spoken by Morro, not Lloyd (though it hurts all the same). The snake around his wrists, over where _Protector_ ends. _Failure_ and _Hopeless_. _Pathetic_ and _Wretched_. 

“I’m sorry,” Lloyd says when the peace finally comes back, and he doesn’t need to specify what the apology is for. 

It takes a few months, but the words _Defender_ and _Guardian_ soon erase Morro’s influence, and Kai can breathe again. 

 

~Lloyd~

Lloyd, even in the hottest days of summer, refuses to go shirtless. The Ninja don’t question it. Or, they don’t question it in front of him, because everyone knows how personal words can be. But they have a inkling of an idea about why he can’t show his skin.

They remember the nights before that fateful volcano, the way they laughed at Lloyd and his childish antics, the way they regarded him as a mere crick in the neck instead of someone worth protecting. And they weren’t the only ones, either. Teachers and students. Citizens and slimy snakes. It seemed that for years Lloyd was defined by those around him. A _Delinquent_. A _Brat_. _Shameful_. _Troublesome_. 

Lloyd never tells them that’s not the reason. He doesn’t need his words to know he messed up. To him, they’re just reminders of how he overcame his past, and although they do sting sometimes, it’s nothing he can’t handle. 

But. 

_Garmadon’s Son_ is permanently impressed right over his heart. _Garmadon’s Son_ , written in smooth, silky letters. Not black, like most, but a dark red just like his father’s old eyes. Lloyd used to regard it with pride, used to think this is who I want to be. And then, lo and behold, he became the Green Ninja and everything changed, and soon enough that badge of honor changed too. To him, _Garmadon’s Son_ is a painful reminder of the childhood he lost, the father that died, the legacy that will soon be tainted if they can’t stop Harumi... 

But for now, he hopes, prays, that there will come a day he can wear those words without feeling that familiar stab of loss he’s so accustomed to. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
